Will a 351 Windsor fit in a 66 stang without having to do a bunch of cutting and all that extracurricular stuff. I know it would be a squeezr but Im not sure how much... What u guys think?/

 

Common question...short answer is yes, it is a squeezer.

 

You can put in a 351c without cutting too.

 

whats the diffrence in 351c

 

Mainly, the heads. The 351 is to tight of a fit. I would put in a 289 or 302.

 

If you are serious about the swap, I'd stick with the 351W. I put a 351C in a 66 coupe back in 1976, long before conversion headers were available. I had to modify the shock towers big time to make it fit. The motor mounts, bell housing, clutch linkage etc. were no problem. Even with conversion headers, it's a real tight fit. IMHO parts availability and ease of installation make the W a better choice for an early car. For a 67-73, I like things that are not quite run of the mill so I'd lean towards a Cleveland. You don't see many of them around anymore and done properly, they perform great.

 

The only thing 351w and 351c have in common is the fact that they have the same displacement. The too are completely different animals. The 351w was designed to be a truck motor. The 351c was designed and built for performance. The gas crunch dealt it an early demise and the 351w caught on for use in more performance applications since then.

Also, you no longer need to modify the shock towers to install the 351c, but it is a tight fit. It makes the 351w look like a 289 in comparison.

Both are good motors however and both are great candidates for performance build ups. For equivilant amounts of money you can get both to reach very respectable performance levels. I always say build what you own.

 

I see you got your engine and bay all cleaned up DS. Good job!

 

I'm not so sure the Windsor was designed as a truck engine. It was used exclusively in cars until the mid seventies. It didn't show up in Econoline vans until 1976 and in F series trucks until 1977.

 

Good catch FE, sometimes bias does creep in...
Actually, they do make a good truck engine. I built one up for my old F150 to tow my trailer. With other mods, I was able to pass small cars going up long hills.
But seriously, the clevelands built a strong reputation in the early 70's, when the windsors were down on their luck. But now it is the opposite due to high availability of stock and performance parts. The clevelands were only built for 3 or 4 years whereas the windsors for almost 25...